US20230400794A1 - Toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents
Toner container and image forming apparatus Download PDFInfo
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- US20230400794A1 US20230400794A1 US18/332,496 US202318332496A US2023400794A1 US 20230400794 A1 US20230400794 A1 US 20230400794A1 US 202318332496 A US202318332496 A US 202318332496A US 2023400794 A1 US2023400794 A1 US 2023400794A1
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- cover
- toner
- container body
- bosses
- toner container
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- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 10
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000003756 stirring Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000007664 blowing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010348 incorporation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
- G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
- G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
- G03G15/0877—Arrangements for metering and dispensing developer from a developer cartridge into the development unit
- G03G15/0881—Sealing of developer cartridges
- G03G15/0886—Sealing of developer cartridges by mechanical means, e.g. shutter, plug
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
- G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
- G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
- G03G15/0865—Arrangements for supplying new developer
- G03G15/0875—Arrangements for supplying new developer cartridges having a box like shape
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
- G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
- G03G15/0894—Reconditioning of the developer unit, i.e. reusing or recycling parts of the unit, e.g. resealing of the unit before refilling with toner
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G2215/00—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes
- G03G2215/06—Developing structures, details
- G03G2215/066—Toner cartridge or other attachable and detachable container for supplying developer material to replace the used material
- G03G2215/068—Toner cartridge or other attachable and detachable container for supplying developer material to replace the used material having a box like shape
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to a reusable toner container and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.
- a developer cartridge (corresponding to the toner container) is configured such that a cylindrical toner filling port is closed by a cap.
- a part of the toner filling port is cut off together with the cap, and then another cap is inserted into the toner filling port to close the toner filling port.
- the toner container may also be configured such that the flange portion of the cap is adhered to the tip surface of the cylindrical filling port.
- the cap including the flange portion is cut off together with the filling port, and then the flange portion of another cap is adhered to the tip surface of the filling port.
- a toner container includes a container body, a cap, a plurality of bosses and a cover.
- the container body has a toner filling port.
- the cap is detachable and closes the filling port.
- the bosses are provided on the container body.
- the cover is detachably attached to the container body so as to cover the filling port and the bosses, and has a through hole through which each of the bosses penetrates.
- the boss has a tip end portion that protrudes from the cover through the through-hole when the cover is attached to the container body.
- the tip end portion is provided so as to regulate detachment of the cover from the container body by being worked into a head portion having a cross-sectional area larger than that of the through-hole after the cover is attached to the container body, and to permit the detachment of the cover from the container body by cutting off the head portion.
- the container body, the cap and the cover can be reused maximum by the number of times corresponding to the number of the bosses.
- An image forming apparatus includes the toner container, and an image forming part which forms an image using the toner supplied from the toner container.
- FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing an inner structure of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 A is a perspective view showing a toner container according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 B is a disassembled perspective view showing the toner container according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3 A is a sectional view showing the toner container (at an initial use) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3 B is a sectional view showing the toner container (in a state where a tip end portion of a boss is worked into a head portion) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 4 is a side view showing the toner container (in the state where the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 5 A is a sectional view showing the toner container (in a state where the tip end portion of the boss is cut off) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 5 B is a sectional view showing the toner container (at reuse) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 5 C is a sectional view showing the toner container (in the state where the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 6 is a side view showing the toner container (in the state where the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion) of the toner container.
- FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing the inner structure of the image forming apparatus 1 .
- Fr, Rr, L and R in each figure indicate the front, rear, left and right sides of the image forming apparatus 1 , respectively.
- the image forming apparatus 1 includes a hollow housing 3 having a nearly parallelepiped shape. Inside the housing 3 , a sheet feeding cassette 5 in which a sheet is stored, a sheet feeding device 7 which feeds the sheet from the sheet feeding cassette 5 , an image forming part 9 which forms a toner image on the sheet, a fixing device 11 which fixes the toner image on the sheet, and a discharging device 13 which discharges the sheet are housed. On the upper surface of the housing 3 , a sheet discharge tray 15 on which the discharged sheet is stacked is formed. Further, a conveyance path 17 is formed inside the housing 3 , along which the sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding device 7 to the discharging device 13 through the image forming part 9 and the fixing device 11 . Furthermore, inside the housing 3 , an inversion path 19 is formed, which is branched from the conveyance path 17 on the downstream side of the fixing device 11 and merged with the conveyance path 17 on the upstream side of the image forming part 9 .
- the image forming part 9 includes a rotatable photosensitive drum 21 , a charging device 23 , a developing device 25 , a transferring roller 27 and a cleaning device 29 which are arranged around the photosensitive drum 21 along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 , an exposure device 31 and a toner container 33 .
- a transfer nip is formed between the photosensitive drum 21 and the transferring roller 27 .
- the toner container 33 is connected to the developing device 25 , and toner is supplied from the toner container 33 to the developing device 25 .
- the image forming operation is briefly described.
- the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 5 by the sheet feeding device 7 is conveyed along the conveyance path 17 to the image forming part 9 .
- the charging device 23 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 .
- the exposure device 31 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 charged by the charging device 23 , and forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image data on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 .
- the developing device 25 develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 into a toner image using the toner supplied from the toner container 33 .
- the transferring roller 27 transfers the toner image onto the sheet conveyed to the transfer nip along the conveyance path 17 .
- the sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed along the conveyance path 17 to the fixing device 11 .
- the cleaning device 29 removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the transferring.
- the fixing device 11 the toner image is fixed on the sheet.
- the sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 15 by the discharging device 13 .
- the sheet with the toner image fixed on one side by the fixing device 11 is switched back in the conveyance path 17 , and then conveyed to the inversion path 19 . Then, the sheet is conveyed from the inversion path 19 to the conveyance path 17 , and then the toner image is formed on the other side of the sheet by the image forming part 9 and fixed on the other side by the fixing device 11 .
- the sheet with the toner images fixed on both sides in this way is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 15 by the discharging device 13 .
- FIG. 2 A is a perspective view showing the toner container 33
- FIG. 2 B is a disassembled perspective view showing the toner container 33 .
- the toner container 33 includes a container body 41 having a toner filling port 43 , a cap 45 closing the filling port 43 , and a cover 47 detachably attached to the container body 41 .
- the container body 41 has a body part 51 with the upper surface opened and a lid part 53 with the lower surface opened.
- the body part 51 has an approximately half-cylindrical bottom plate 51 a long in the front-and-rear direction and approximately semi-circular front and rear side plate 51 b .
- the body part 51 is formed with a flange 51 c extending outward around the upper surface opening.
- the lid part 53 is formed with a flange 53 c extending outward around the lower surface opening.
- the toner filling port 43 is formed.
- a cylindrical portion 57 is formed around the filling port 43 .
- a plurality of (three, in this example) cylindrical bosses 59 ( 59 A, 59 B and 59 C) are formed in a row near the filling port 43 .
- the three bosses 59 have the same length, and are longer than the length of the cylindrical portion 57 .
- the tip end portion of each boss 59 is formed to be workable by applying ultrasonic vibration.
- the entire of the container body 41 , the entire of the body part 51 , or the entire of the bosses 59 may be made of material (for example, resin) that can be worked by applying ultrasonic vibration.
- a stirring paddle and a conveying screw are rotatably housed. Furthermore, a toner discharge port (not shown) is formed on the bottom plate 51 a of the body part 51 .
- the discharge port communicates with the toner supply port (not shown) of the developing device 25 .
- the discharge port can be opened and closed by means of a shutter (not shown).
- the cap 45 has a closing portion 45 a and an extending portion 45 b that extends outward from the outer circumference of the closing portion 45 a , and is made of resin such as rubber.
- the closing portion 45 a has a bottomed cylindrical shape.
- the extending portion 45 b has a triangular cross section.
- the cap 45 is press-fitted into the cylindrical portion 57 of the container body 41 . That is, the closing portion 45 a is pushed into the cylindrical portion 57 , and the cylindrical portion 57 is fitted between the closing portion 45 a and the extending portion 45 b .
- the cap 45 closes the cylindrical portion 57 , that is, the filling port 43 . Since the cap 45 and the cylindrical portion 57 are not fixed together in this way, the cap 45 is detachable from the cylindrical portion 57 .
- the cover 47 has an end wall 47 a of the same shape as the side plate 51 b and a side wall 41 b around the outer circumference of the end wall 47 a .
- the cover 47 is attached to the body part 51 of the container body 41 by a snap-fit coupling so as to cover the cylindrical portion 57 (the filling port 43 ) and the three bosses 59 .
- the end wall 47 a has three circular through-holes 61 through which the three bosses 59 can penetrate.
- FIG. 3 A , FIG. 3 B and FIG. 5 A to FIG. 5 C are sectional views showing the toner container 33
- FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 are side views showing the toner container 33 .
- the cover 47 and the cap 45 are detached from the container body 41 , and then a predetermined amount of the toner is filled through the filling port 43 . Then, as shown in FIG. 3 A , the cap 45 is press-fitted into the cylindrical portion 57 to close the filling port 43 , and then the cover 47 is attached to the body part 51 by a snap-fit coupling.
- the three bosses 59 pass through the through-holes 61 of the cover 47 , and the tip end portions 59 a protrude from the cover 47 .
- the side surface of the toner container 33 shows that the head portion 59 b of the outermost (the leftmost) boss 59 A is exposed while the tip end portions 59 a of the other bosses 59 B and 59 C are exposed. Since the diameter of the head portion 59 b is different from the diameter of the tip end portion 59 a , there is a difference in appearance between the outermost boss 59 A and the other bosses 59 B and 59 C. Thus, by grasping that the shape of the outermost boss 59 A is different from the shapes of the other bosses 59 B and 59 C, it is determined that the toner container 33 is in the first shipment.
- the toner container 33 is mounted in a predetermined position inside the housing 3 , and the image forming operation described above is performed.
- the replenishment operation is performed such that the toner is replenished from the toner container 33 to the developing device 25 .
- the stirring paddle and the conveying screw rotate and the shutter is opened. As the stirring paddle rotates, the toner in the container body 41 is stirred and conveyed toward the conveying screw. Then, the toner is conveyed toward the discharge port by the rotation of the conveyance screw, and supplied to the developing device 25 through the discharge port.
- the supply of toner is stopped.
- the replacement of the toner container 33 is instructed and the toner container 33 is replaced.
- the toner container 33 When the toner container 33 is replaced, the toner container 33 is detached from the housing 3 . Then, as shown in FIG. 5 A , the head portion 59 b of the outermost boss 59 A is cut off using a tool (a plier, a nipper or the like). As a result, the regulating of the detachment of the cover 47 by the head portion 59 b is released, and the cover 47 can be detached from the container body 41 . When the head portion 59 b is cut off, fine chips may be generated, but since the filling port 43 remains closed by the cap 45 , there is no possibility that these chips enter the container body 41 through the filling port 43 .
- a tool a plier, a nipper or the like
- the cap 45 is detached. That is, since the cover 47 is attached to the body part 51 by a snap-fit coupling, it can be easily detached from the body part 51 by releasing the snap-fit coupling. In addition, since the cap 45 is only press-fitted into the cylindrical portion 57 , it can be easily detached from the cylindrical portion 57 by hand or with a tool. After detaching the cover 47 and cap 45 in this way, the inner space of the container body 41 is cleaned by air blowing. The above process is defined as a finish process.
- the detached cap 45 is press-fitting the detached cap 45 into the cylindrical portion 57 .
- the detached cover 47 is attached to the body part 51 by the snap-fit coupling.
- the three bosses 59 are inserted into the through-holes 61 of the cover 47 respectively.
- the length of the outermost boss 59 A is shorter than that of the other two bosses 59 B and 59 C because the head portion 59 b is cut off.
- the tip end portions 59 a of the other two bosses 59 B and 59 C protrude from the cover 47 .
- the tip end portion 59 a of the second boss 59 B is applied with ultrasonic vibration so as to be worked into a flat disk-shaped head portion 59 b as shown in FIG. 5 C .
- the detachment of the cover 47 from the body part 51 is regulated by the head portion 59 b
- the detachment of the cap 45 is also regulated.
- the second shipment is made in this condition.
- the side surface of the toner container 33 shows that the head portion 59 b of the second (the center) boss 59 B is exposed while the first boss 59 A is not exposed through the through-hole 61 and the tip end portion 59 a of the third boss 59 C is exposed.
- the diameter of the head portion 59 b is different from the diameter of the tip end portion 59 a , there is a difference in appearance between the second boss 59 B and the other bosses 59 A and 59 C.
- the position of the head portion 59 b on the side surface of the toner container 33 is different between the second shipment and the first shipment as shown in FIG. 4 , it is easy to grasp that the shape of the side surface is different between the first shipment and the second shipment. Therefore, it can be determined that the toner container 33 is in the second shipment (use).
- the above start process is performed, and then the third shipment is made.
- the tip end portion 59 a of the third boss 59 C is worked into the head portion 59 b .
- the above finish process is performed after the toner is consumed.
- the toner container 33 can be reused three times by performing the start and finish processes for the number (three) of the bosses 59 .
- the cap 45 and the cylindrical portion 57 are not cut off and the filling port 43 remains closed so that chips and debris generated by the cutting off do not enter the container body 41 . Therefore, the cleaning work can be carried out efficiently. Furthermore, by confirming the position of the head portion 59 b , the number of times of reuse can be easily grasped. At this time, since the head portion 59 b of the worked boss 59 and the tip end portion 59 a of the other bosses 59 are clearly different in appearance, both can be easily distinguished.
- the position of the head portion 59 b is different for the number of times of reuse, the difference in appearance of the toner container 33 for the number of times of reuse can be easily grasped. Numbers or symbols representing the number of times of use may be written on the cover 47 corresponding to each of the bosses 59 . This makes it easier to grasp how many shipments (uses) have been made.
- the cover 47 on the outside of the cap 45 , the leakage of the toner through the filling port 43 can be reliably prevented and the strength of the toner container 33 can be enhanced. Furthermore, in addition to the container body 41 , the cap 45 and the cover 47 can also be reused, thus reducing the amount of waste generated during reuse.
- the number of times the toner container 33 is reused does not necessarily have to be the same as the number of bosses 59 . If the container body 41 is damaged or deteriorated before being used for the original number of reuse times, the number of reuse times is less than the number of bosses 59 .
- the number of bosses 59 is not limited to three, and can be changed appropriately according to the model of the image forming apparatus 1 . Moreover, although the bosses 59 need not always be arranged in a row, it is preferable that they are arranged in a row because it is easy to check the number of times of reuse.
- the cap 45 may also be attached to the cylindrical portion 57 by a screw, and the cover 47 may be attached to the body part 51 by press-fitting.
- the method of working the tip end portion 59 a of the boss 59 into the head portion 59 b can be applied by applying heat, in addition to applying ultrasonic vibration.
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Abstract
A toner container includes a container body, a cap, bosses and a cover. The container body has a toner filling port. The cap is detachable and closes the filling port. The bosses are provided on the container body. The cover is detachably attached to the container body so as to cover the filling port and the bosses, and has a through hole through which each of the bosses penetrates. The boss has a tip end portion protruding from the cover through the through-hole. The tip end portion is provided so as to regulate detachment of the cover by being worked into a head portion having a cross-sectional area larger than the through-hole, and to permit the detachment of the cover by cutting off the head portion. The container body, the cap and the cover can be reused maximum by the number of times corresponding to the number of the bosses.
Description
- This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2022-094279 filed on Jun. 10, 2022, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
- The present disclosure relates to a reusable toner container and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.
- In recent years, there has been a growing trend to reuse a toner container in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that use toner, such as a multifunctional peripheral and a printer.
- For example, a developer cartridge (corresponding to the toner container) is configured such that a cylindrical toner filling port is closed by a cap. When the developer cartridge is reused, a part of the toner filling port is cut off together with the cap, and then another cap is inserted into the toner filling port to close the toner filling port. Alternatively, the toner container may also be configured such that the flange portion of the cap is adhered to the tip surface of the cylindrical filling port. When the toner container is reused, the cap including the flange portion is cut off together with the filling port, and then the flange portion of another cap is adhered to the tip surface of the filling port.
- In addition, when reusing toner containers, in consideration of durability, it is necessary to grasp the number of times it is reused. For this reason, by changing the shape of the cap used at the time of reuse, it may be configured to grasp the number of times it is reused.
- However, in the above toner containers, it is necessary to cut off a part of the cap and a part of the filling port when it is reused. Then, shavings and debris generated during the cutting off may enter the main body, so the main body needs to be cleaned carefully, which reduces the workability at the time of reuse. In addition, the cap is not reusable after the cutting off, resulting in increasing an amount of the waste. In addition, it is preferable that the number of times of reuse can be easily grasped visually.
- A toner container according to the present disclosure includes a container body, a cap, a plurality of bosses and a cover. The container body has a toner filling port. The cap is detachable and closes the filling port. The bosses are provided on the container body. The cover is detachably attached to the container body so as to cover the filling port and the bosses, and has a through hole through which each of the bosses penetrates. The boss has a tip end portion that protrudes from the cover through the through-hole when the cover is attached to the container body. The tip end portion is provided so as to regulate detachment of the cover from the container body by being worked into a head portion having a cross-sectional area larger than that of the through-hole after the cover is attached to the container body, and to permit the detachment of the cover from the container body by cutting off the head portion. The container body, the cap and the cover can be reused maximum by the number of times corresponding to the number of the bosses.
- An image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure includes the toner container, and an image forming part which forms an image using the toner supplied from the toner container.
- The objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description. In the detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, and preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings.
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FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing an inner structure of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing a toner container according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2B is a disassembled perspective view showing the toner container according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing the toner container (at an initial use) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3B is a sectional view showing the toner container (in a state where a tip end portion of a boss is worked into a head portion) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 4 is a side view showing the toner container (in the state where the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 5A is a sectional view showing the toner container (in a state where the tip end portion of the boss is cut off) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 5B is a sectional view showing the toner container (at reuse) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 5C is a sectional view showing the toner container (in the state where the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 6 is a side view showing the toner container (in the state where the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion) of the toner container. - Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, an image forming apparatus and a toner container according to one embodiment in the present disclosure will be described.
- First, with reference to
FIG. 1 , an image forming apparatus 1 will be described.FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing the inner structure of the image forming apparatus 1. Fr, Rr, L and R in each figure indicate the front, rear, left and right sides of the image forming apparatus 1, respectively. - The image forming apparatus 1 includes a
hollow housing 3 having a nearly parallelepiped shape. Inside thehousing 3, asheet feeding cassette 5 in which a sheet is stored, asheet feeding device 7 which feeds the sheet from thesheet feeding cassette 5, animage forming part 9 which forms a toner image on the sheet, a fixing device 11 which fixes the toner image on the sheet, and adischarging device 13 which discharges the sheet are housed. On the upper surface of thehousing 3, a sheet discharge tray 15 on which the discharged sheet is stacked is formed. Further, aconveyance path 17 is formed inside thehousing 3, along which the sheet is conveyed from thesheet feeding device 7 to thedischarging device 13 through theimage forming part 9 and the fixing device 11. Furthermore, inside thehousing 3, an inversion path 19 is formed, which is branched from theconveyance path 17 on the downstream side of the fixing device 11 and merged with theconveyance path 17 on the upstream side of theimage forming part 9. - The
image forming part 9 includes a rotatablephotosensitive drum 21, acharging device 23, a developingdevice 25, a transferringroller 27 and acleaning device 29 which are arranged around thephotosensitive drum 21 along the rotation direction of thephotosensitive drum 21, anexposure device 31 and atoner container 33. A transfer nip is formed between thephotosensitive drum 21 and the transferringroller 27. Thetoner container 33 is connected to the developingdevice 25, and toner is supplied from thetoner container 33 to the developingdevice 25. - The image forming operation is briefly described. The sheet fed from the
sheet feeding cassette 5 by thesheet feeding device 7 is conveyed along theconveyance path 17 to theimage forming part 9. In theimage forming part 9, thecharging device 23 charges the surface of thephotosensitive drum 21. Theexposure device 31 exposes the surface of thephotosensitive drum 21 charged by thecharging device 23, and forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image data on the surface of thephotosensitive drum 21. The developingdevice 25 develops the electrostatic latent image on thephotosensitive drum 21 into a toner image using the toner supplied from thetoner container 33. The transferringroller 27 transfers the toner image onto the sheet conveyed to the transfer nip along theconveyance path 17. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed along theconveyance path 17 to the fixing device 11. Thecleaning device 29 removes the toner remaining on the surface of thephotosensitive drum 21 after the transferring. In the fixing device 11, the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to thesheet discharge tray 15 by the dischargingdevice 13. - In the case of duplex printing, the sheet with the toner image fixed on one side by the fixing device 11 is switched back in the
conveyance path 17, and then conveyed to the inversion path 19. Then, the sheet is conveyed from the inversion path 19 to theconveyance path 17, and then the toner image is formed on the other side of the sheet by theimage forming part 9 and fixed on the other side by the fixing device 11. The sheet with the toner images fixed on both sides in this way is discharged to thesheet discharge tray 15 by the dischargingdevice 13. - Next, the
toner container 33 will be described with reference toFIG. 2A andFIG. 2B .FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing thetoner container 33, andFIG. 2B is a disassembled perspective view showing thetoner container 33. - The
toner container 33 includes acontainer body 41 having atoner filling port 43, acap 45 closing the fillingport 43, and acover 47 detachably attached to thecontainer body 41. - The
container body 41 has abody part 51 with the upper surface opened and alid part 53 with the lower surface opened. Thebody part 51 has an approximately half-cylindrical bottom plate 51 a long in the front-and-rear direction and approximately semi-circular front andrear side plate 51 b. Thebody part 51 is formed with aflange 51 c extending outward around the upper surface opening. Thelid part 53 is formed with a flange 53 c extending outward around the lower surface opening. When both theflanges 51 c and 53 c are welded together, thebody part 51 and thelid part 53 constitute thecontainer body 41 having an inner space for storing the toner. - In one
side plate 51 b, thetoner filling port 43 is formed. In addition, in theside plate 51 b, acylindrical portion 57 is formed around the fillingport 43. Furthermore, in theside plate 51 b, a plurality of (three, in this example) cylindrical bosses 59 (59A, 59B and 59C) are formed in a row near the fillingport 43. The three bosses 59 have the same length, and are longer than the length of thecylindrical portion 57. The tip end portion of each boss 59 is formed to be workable by applying ultrasonic vibration. For example, the entire of thecontainer body 41, the entire of thebody part 51, or the entire of the bosses 59 may be made of material (for example, resin) that can be worked by applying ultrasonic vibration. - In the inner space of the
container body 41, a stirring paddle and a conveying screw (both not shown) are rotatably housed. Furthermore, a toner discharge port (not shown) is formed on thebottom plate 51 a of thebody part 51. The discharge port communicates with the toner supply port (not shown) of the developingdevice 25. The discharge port can be opened and closed by means of a shutter (not shown). - The
cap 45 has a closingportion 45 a and an extendingportion 45 b that extends outward from the outer circumference of the closingportion 45 a, and is made of resin such as rubber. The closingportion 45 a has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The extendingportion 45 b has a triangular cross section. Thecap 45 is press-fitted into thecylindrical portion 57 of thecontainer body 41. That is, the closingportion 45 a is pushed into thecylindrical portion 57, and thecylindrical portion 57 is fitted between the closingportion 45 a and the extendingportion 45 b. Then, the inner circumferential surface of thecylindrical portion 57 and the outer circumferential surface of the closingportion 45 a come into close contact with each other, and the outer circumferential surface of thecylindrical portion 57 and the inner circumferential surface of the extendingportion 45 b come into close contact with each other. Thus, thecap 45 closes thecylindrical portion 57, that is, the fillingport 43. Since thecap 45 and thecylindrical portion 57 are not fixed together in this way, thecap 45 is detachable from thecylindrical portion 57. - The
cover 47 has anend wall 47 a of the same shape as theside plate 51 b and a side wall 41 b around the outer circumference of theend wall 47 a. Thecover 47 is attached to thebody part 51 of thecontainer body 41 by a snap-fit coupling so as to cover the cylindrical portion 57 (the filling port 43) and the three bosses 59. Theend wall 47 a has three circular through-holes 61 through which the three bosses 59 can penetrate. When thecover 47 is attached to thebody part 51, thecap 45 attached to thecylindrical portion 57 is covered with thecover 47. Thetip end portions 59 a of the three bosses 59 protrude from thecover 47 through the through-holes 61, respectively. - Next, a reuse method of the
toner container 33 having the above configuration will be described with reference toFIG. 3A toFIG. 6 .FIG. 3A ,FIG. 3B andFIG. 5A toFIG. 5C are sectional views showing thetoner container 33, andFIG. 4 andFIG. 6 are side views showing thetoner container 33. - When the toner is filled for the initial time (the first time), the
cover 47 and thecap 45 are detached from thecontainer body 41, and then a predetermined amount of the toner is filled through the fillingport 43. Then, as shown inFIG. 3A , thecap 45 is press-fitted into thecylindrical portion 57 to close the fillingport 43, and then thecover 47 is attached to thebody part 51 by a snap-fit coupling. The three bosses 59 pass through the through-holes 61 of thecover 47, and thetip end portions 59 a protrude from thecover 47. - Then, as shown in
FIG. 3B , ultrasonic vibration is applied to thetip end portion 59 a of the outermost (the leftmost)boss 59A to work it into a flat disk-shapedhead portion 59 b whose diameter is larger than that of the through-hole 61, in other words, whose cross-sectional area is larger than that of the through-hole 61. Thehead portion 59 b is worked so as to be nearly in contact with theend wall 47 a of thecover 47. The above process is defined as a start process. By working thetip end portion 59 a of the boss 59 into thehead portion 59 b, the detachment of thecover 47 from thebody part 51 is regulated by thehead portion 59 b. when the detachment of thecover 47 is thus regulated, the detachment of thecap 45 from thecylindrical portion 57 is also regulated. The first shipment is made in this state. - At the first shipment, as shown in
FIG. 4 , the side surface of thetoner container 33 shows that thehead portion 59 b of the outermost (the leftmost)boss 59A is exposed while thetip end portions 59 a of theother bosses head portion 59 b is different from the diameter of thetip end portion 59 a, there is a difference in appearance between theoutermost boss 59A and theother bosses outermost boss 59A is different from the shapes of theother bosses toner container 33 is in the first shipment. - After the first shipment, the
toner container 33 is mounted in a predetermined position inside thehousing 3, and the image forming operation described above is performed. When the toner concentration of the developingdevice 25 drops below the predetermined concentration during the image forming operation, the replenishment operation is performed such that the toner is replenished from thetoner container 33 to the developingdevice 25. In the toner replenishment operation, the stirring paddle and the conveying screw rotate and the shutter is opened. As the stirring paddle rotates, the toner in thecontainer body 41 is stirred and conveyed toward the conveying screw. Then, the toner is conveyed toward the discharge port by the rotation of the conveyance screw, and supplied to the developingdevice 25 through the discharge port. When the toner concentration in the developingdevice 25 reaches the predetermined concentration, the supply of toner is stopped. When such a replenishment operation is repeated and the toner in thecontainer body 41 is consumed, the replacement of thetoner container 33 is instructed and thetoner container 33 is replaced. - When the
toner container 33 is replaced, thetoner container 33 is detached from thehousing 3. Then, as shown inFIG. 5A , thehead portion 59 b of theoutermost boss 59A is cut off using a tool (a plier, a nipper or the like). As a result, the regulating of the detachment of thecover 47 by thehead portion 59 b is released, and thecover 47 can be detached from thecontainer body 41. When thehead portion 59 b is cut off, fine chips may be generated, but since the fillingport 43 remains closed by thecap 45, there is no possibility that these chips enter thecontainer body 41 through the fillingport 43. - Then, as shown in
FIG. 5B , after detaching thecover 47, thecap 45 is detached. That is, since thecover 47 is attached to thebody part 51 by a snap-fit coupling, it can be easily detached from thebody part 51 by releasing the snap-fit coupling. In addition, since thecap 45 is only press-fitted into thecylindrical portion 57, it can be easily detached from thecylindrical portion 57 by hand or with a tool. After detaching thecover 47 andcap 45 in this way, the inner space of thecontainer body 41 is cleaned by air blowing. The above process is defined as a finish process. - Then, as in the first filling, a predetermined amount of the toner is filled into the
container body 41 through the fillingport 43. Then, after press-fitting thedetached cap 45 into thecylindrical portion 57, thedetached cover 47 is attached to thebody part 51 by the snap-fit coupling. Then, the three bosses 59 are inserted into the through-holes 61 of thecover 47 respectively. In this case, the length of theoutermost boss 59A is shorter than that of the other twobosses head portion 59 b is cut off. Thetip end portions 59 a of the other twobosses cover 47. - Next, as in the case of the
first boss 59B, thetip end portion 59 a of thesecond boss 59B is applied with ultrasonic vibration so as to be worked into a flat disk-shapedhead portion 59 b as shown inFIG. 5C . As a result, the detachment of thecover 47 from thebody part 51 is regulated by thehead portion 59 b, and the detachment of thecap 45 is also regulated. The second shipment is made in this condition. - At the second shipment, as shown in
FIG. 6 , the side surface of thetoner container 33 shows that thehead portion 59 b of the second (the center)boss 59B is exposed while thefirst boss 59A is not exposed through the through-hole 61 and thetip end portion 59 a of thethird boss 59C is exposed. As described above, since the diameter of thehead portion 59 b is different from the diameter of thetip end portion 59 a, there is a difference in appearance between thesecond boss 59B and theother bosses head portion 59 b on the side surface of thetoner container 33 is different between the second shipment and the first shipment as shown inFIG. 4 , it is easy to grasp that the shape of the side surface is different between the first shipment and the second shipment. Therefore, it can be determined that thetoner container 33 is in the second shipment (use). - After the toner is consumed, the above start process is performed, and then the third shipment is made. In the start process of the third shipment, the
tip end portion 59 a of thethird boss 59C is worked into thehead portion 59 b. After the shipping, the above finish process is performed after the toner is consumed. Thus, thetoner container 33 can be reused three times by performing the start and finish processes for the number (three) of the bosses 59. - As is clear from the above description, according to the present disclosure, when the
toner container 33 is reused, thecap 45 and thecylindrical portion 57 are not cut off and the fillingport 43 remains closed so that chips and debris generated by the cutting off do not enter thecontainer body 41. Therefore, the cleaning work can be carried out efficiently. Furthermore, by confirming the position of thehead portion 59 b, the number of times of reuse can be easily grasped. At this time, since thehead portion 59 b of the worked boss 59 and thetip end portion 59 a of the other bosses 59 are clearly different in appearance, both can be easily distinguished. - Furthermore, since the position of the
head portion 59 b is different for the number of times of reuse, the difference in appearance of thetoner container 33 for the number of times of reuse can be easily grasped. Numbers or symbols representing the number of times of use may be written on thecover 47 corresponding to each of the bosses 59. This makes it easier to grasp how many shipments (uses) have been made. - Furthermore, by providing the
cover 47 on the outside of thecap 45, the leakage of the toner through the fillingport 43 can be reliably prevented and the strength of thetoner container 33 can be enhanced. Furthermore, in addition to thecontainer body 41, thecap 45 and thecover 47 can also be reused, thus reducing the amount of waste generated during reuse. - The number of times the
toner container 33 is reused does not necessarily have to be the same as the number of bosses 59. If thecontainer body 41 is damaged or deteriorated before being used for the original number of reuse times, the number of reuse times is less than the number of bosses 59. The number of bosses 59 is not limited to three, and can be changed appropriately according to the model of the image forming apparatus 1. Moreover, although the bosses 59 need not always be arranged in a row, it is preferable that they are arranged in a row because it is easy to check the number of times of reuse. Thecap 45 may also be attached to thecylindrical portion 57 by a screw, and thecover 47 may be attached to thebody part 51 by press-fitting. - In addition, the method of working the
tip end portion 59 a of the boss 59 into thehead portion 59 b can be applied by applying heat, in addition to applying ultrasonic vibration. - While this disclosure has been described for specific embodiment (s), this disclosure is not limited to the above. To the extent that it does not deviate from the scope and spirit of this disclosure, a person skilled in the art may modify the above embodiment.
Claims (5)
1. A toner container comprising:
a container body having a toner filling port;
a detachable cap closing the filling port;
a plurality of bosses provided on the container body; and
a cover that is detachably attached to the container body so as to cover the filling port and the bosses and has a through hole through which each of the bosses penetrates, wherein
the boss has a tip end portion that protrudes from the cover through the through-hole when the cover is attached to the container body,
the tip end portion is provided so as to regulate detachment of the cover from the container body by being worked into a head portion having a cross-sectional area larger than that of the through-hole after the cover is attached to the container body, and to permit the detachment of the cover from the container body by cutting off the head portion, and
the container body, the cap and the cover can be reused maximum by the number of times corresponding to the number of the bosses.
2. The toner container according to claim 1 , wherein
the tip end portion of the boss is worked into the head portion by applying ultrasonic vibration.
3. The toner container according to claim 1 , wherein
the cap is press-fitted into the filling port to close the filling port, and the cover is attached to the container body by a snap-fit coupling.
4. The toner container according to claim 1 , wherein
a difference in appearance between the tip end portion and the head portion is visible.
5. An image forming apparatus comprising:
the toner container according to claim 1 , and
an image forming part which forms an image using the toner supplied from the toner container.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2022094279A JP2023180734A (en) | 2022-06-10 | 2022-06-10 | Toner container and image forming apparatus |
JP2022-094279 | 2022-06-10 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20230400794A1 true US20230400794A1 (en) | 2023-12-14 |
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ID=89077490
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US18/332,496 Pending US20230400794A1 (en) | 2022-06-10 | 2023-06-09 | Toner container and image forming apparatus |
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Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20230400794A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2023180734A (en) |
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2022
- 2022-06-10 JP JP2022094279A patent/JP2023180734A/en active Pending
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- 2023-06-09 US US18/332,496 patent/US20230400794A1/en active Pending
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JP2023180734A (en) | 2023-12-21 |
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